


Forget Me Not

by ijustwantahugfromleetaeyong



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Adultery, Alternative Universe - Kingdom, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Awkward Dates, Boys In Love, Changing Feelings, Cheating, Developing Relationship, Emotional Infidelity, Established Jung Yoonoh | Jaehyun/Suh Youngho | Johnny, Falling In Love, First Dates, Florist Lee Taeyong, Florists, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Happy Ending, I Don't Even Know, I HATE MYSELF FOR DOING THIS, I Tried, I'm Sorry, Idiots in Love, Infidelity, Jung Yoonoh | Jaehyun is Whipped, Lee Taeyong & Chittaphon Leechaiyapornkul | Ten Are Best Friends, Love Confessions, M/M, One Big Happy Family, Pretty Lee Taeyong, Romantic Fluff, Soft Lee Taeyong, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, What Have I Done, Why Did I Write This?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-19
Updated: 2021-03-09
Packaged: 2021-03-13 05:54:06
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,690
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29273538
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ijustwantahugfromleetaeyong/pseuds/ijustwantahugfromleetaeyong
Summary: Jaehyun knows it's wrong, falling for the pretty florist Lee Taeyong who helped him arrange a last-minute bouquet for his fiance Johnny on their anniversary.He knows it's wrong. And yet he's falling anyway.
Relationships: Chittaphon Leechaiyapornkul | Ten/Suh Youngho | Johnny, Jung Yoonoh | Jaehyun/Lee Taeyong, Jung Yoonoh | Jaehyun/Suh Youngho | Johnny, Lee Donghyuck | Haechan/Mark Lee
Comments: 7
Kudos: 53





	1. Chapter 1

“Shit.” He cursed under his breath, almost running a red light as his hands tightened around the steering wheel.  
The cringey pop song on the radio changed to the monotone droning of the evening news, but Jaehyun was only half listening, trying to focus on not killing himself. He was likely breaking every road law known to man, but that didn’t matter. What did matter was the fact that he forgot his and Johnny’s anniversary.  
He and his fiance had been together for five years. Jaehyun knows that he should have remembered, but he had such a busy day at the office packed with meetings and financial reports.  
He had thirty minutes until their dinner at that Italian place, and he still hadn’t bought Johnny anything other than a card.  
So here Jaehyun was, racing around Seoul as rain hammered down on his car, trying to find a florist that would be open at 7 in the evening. Each one he’d passed had been shutting up shop, or already had their lights turned out.  
“C’mon, c’mon. One. I just need one florist to be open tonight.” Jaehyun pleaded, knowing that no-one could hear him.  
He was fucked.  
Just as he thought about how much of a failure he was to Johnny, and let out a heavy sigh, his eyes caught a bright light at the edge of the street. He slowed his rampant speed and as he passed the building, he was greeted by a neon yellow tulip and the words ‘Bunches of Happiness’ written in white cursive.  
The relief he felt as he swung into the next available space, receiving a honk from the guy behind him because he forgot to signal, was indescribable.  
“Okay Jaehyun, you’re slightly less fucked now.”  
He shut off the engine and hopped out of the car, sprinting to the shop with his briefcase over his head. But as he yanked at the door, his hopeful smile faltered. It was locked.  
“Shit, shit!”  
Jaehyun stood for a moment, shivering under his briefcase and wondering what to do. He needed something to give to his fiance, to his partner of five years. He’d come this far to find the only florist with its lights still on. Somebody had to be inside.  
As that thought crossed his mind, he decided to become the most obnoxious person on earth, and began knocking on the glass door of the closed florist.  
Fuck it. What else did he have to lose?  
-  
Fridays were Taeyong’s favourite days.  
Unlike most people, however, it wasn’t because the weekend was just around the corner. Taeyong loved his job. Being a florist was always his passion, ever since he started caring for a spider plant aged six and kept it alive until he was seventeen. Plants, flowers and greenery had always been his favourite parts of life. They were all so colourful, and smelt so sweet, and they meant so many different things.  
Taeyong love flowers. He loved floristry.  
He also enjoyed working with Haechan and Mark. Despite the fact Haechan was too loud with the customers, and Mark was awful at watering the plants because he was too busy staring at Haechan (who he definitely had a crush on) and ended up watering his shoes. Even though the young apprentices got under his feet sometimes, he was still fond of them.  
So no, the reason Taeyong loved Fridays was not because he left work. Fridays were his favourite because that was the night his favourite show aired. Once a week, every Friday at 7.30.  
He was just finishing taking stock of the latest order of succulents, and then he’d be free to leave. As Taeyong counted the final palette of plants and scribbled down the figure on his note sheet, he heard a tapping. It was quite faint at first, but as he listened, the noise grew in more volume and urgency.  
Emerging from the back room, he scanned the shop front, his eyes landing on the door. Or more importantly, the person stood outside of it.  
There was a man, hunched under a briefcase to shield him from the downpour - when had it started raining? - and shivering against the cold. His face was slightly illuminated by the light cast from the shop, only highlighting the look of desperation on his sodden face. He spotted Taeyong and ceased his knocking, perking up and beginning to talk.  
He could faintly make out a “Hey” and “In?”.  
It was ten minutes past closing time, and he only twenty minutes to get home in time for his show. Taeyong rocked on the balls of his feet, picking at his green, cotton apron as he considered what to do.  
In the end, his good nature got the best of him and he moved towards the door, turning the lock and swinging it open. The man all but fell inside, apologising profusely for the rain, and the time of day, and a whole host of other things that Taeyong didn’t really mind. He just wanted to know what the matter was with this drenched stranger.  
The door shut softly, and the sound of rain and heavy traffic was replaced by the silence of the shop.  
“Is… everything okay?” Taeyong asked after a moment, the man straightening and adjusting his tie, before looking towards him.  
Oh.  
In the light of the shop, away from the rain, Taeyong could actually get a proper look at the man standing before him. His suit was a snug fit, but clung to him because of the weather, and his briefcase was dripping steadily on the floor. The man had smooth skin that was more melanin than the street lights had let him see. He had bluish hair, and that too was dripping with water, the droplets sliding down his face and seemingly illuminating his brown eyes. Those eyes lit up when Taeyong spoke, and the man began to smile, nodding and letting out a breath.  
“Yes, yes. Sorry. I realise that it’s late and I feel awful for barging in like this, but… I need your help.” The man exclaimed.  
Taeyong nodded, trying to ignore how unfairly good-looking this man was and focus on his job. He pretty much forgot about the fact that he should be halfway home by now.  
“That’s okay. I let you in, right?” Taeyong began, walking to the counter as he spoke and hearing the footsteps of the stranger as he followed him, “I wouldn’t have done that if I wasn’t willing to help.”  
They reached the counter, and Taeyong felt more professional, more in control, smiling up at his apparent customer and noticing how he was a smidge taller than him.  
“So can you help me?”  
“Depends on what you need.”  
“Okay, okay. So, I was on my way to my anniversary dinner - my fiance and I, we’ve been together five years now-”  
“Congratulations.”  
“Thanks. And um, yeah, I was on my way and I remembered that I, well I hadn’t-”  
“You forgot the flowers?”  
The man looked sheepishly down at his feet, “Yeah, I uh… I forgot.”  
“Hey,” Taeyong said, waiting for the stranger to look his way before continuing, “Don’t worry about it. Now, let’s get a bouquet together that’ll save your ass.”  
The man seemed to hesitate, “Are you sure? I mean, it’s past closing time, that’s not fair on you, just cos I made a shitty mistake-”  
“What’s your name?” Taeyong asked, realising how bold a question it was as he opened his mouth, and almost retracting it before the man spoke up.  
“Jaehyun.”  
“Jaehyun. My name’s Taeyong. And you don’t need to worry about it. It’s alright. We all forget things, even the best of us.” He shrugged, “It’s human nature.”  
“Thanks. Thank you, really.”  
Taeyong flashed his best gummy smile to make Jaehyun brighten up. It worked. “Now what’s the lucky lady or gentleman called?”  
“Johnny.” Jaehyun smiled.  
“Okay, what flowers does Johnny like? Any preferences?”  
-  
Taeyong and Jaehyun were wandering around the flower displays five minutes later with a notebook and a sense of purpose. Taeyong pushed his glasses up his nose as he leant over a display of peonies.  
“Will he like them?” Jaehyung asked, already cradling a handful of dark carnations and red tulips.  
“Oh, of course. The message will be very clear; the language of flowers hasn’t failed me yet.”  
“The language of flowers?”  
“Yeah.” Taeyong said, turning to face Jaehyun with a goofy smile, “Each flower has a different meaning. Put them together and you get the right message.”  
With peonies added to the bunch, they moved over to the counter. Taeyong arranged the flowers with some simple herbs in a brown paper bouquet, paying close attention to the alignment of colour as he tied it all together with some red curled ribbon, talking as he worked.  
“Peonies mean beauty, so they’re a great way of admiring the person you love and telling them how beautiful they are. Carnations mean fascination, so they go well with the peonies. I picked the darker ones because they mean a deep affection. And the meaning of tulips is perfect love; they’re a favourite of mine.” Taeyong ties a final knot and smiles at his handiwork, showing off the bouquet to Jaehyun, “How is it?”  
“Perfect.” Jaehyun breathed.  
Taeyong blushed, and handed the bouquet over, slightly embarrassed after rambling so passionately about flowers. The two held each other’s gaze.  
“How much do I owe you?” Jaehyun asked, after a period of awkward silence.  
“Oh!” Taeyong gasped, “I nearly forgot. Listen, because you’re good company and you’ve got a date to get to, it’s on the house!”  
“No.”  
“No?”  
“No. You’re a lifesaver! You’re a fantastic florist, I’ve never known anyone with as much knowledge as you about flowers. And, you stayed late because of me… on a Friday! No, I’ve got to return the favour!”  
Taeyong smiled at the sincerity on Jaehyun’s face, aware that this may be the last time he could see him, and decided to bask in his beautiful expression. The frown on his face was endearing, the pink tint of his cheeks was cute. Taeyong found him to be very amusing, and very easy to look at.  
It was clear, however, that Jaehyun wouldn’t budge, so Taeyong charged him half the usual rate and handed him a gift card with the words “Happy Anniversary” in cursive. Jaehyun headed towards the door and paused.  
“Thank you again, Taeyong.” He said.  
“Anytime.” Taeyong smiled, and he meant it.  
The man disappeared into the rain, clambering into a nearby car and driving off into the night, towards a waiting man who was very lucky, Taeyong thought, to have him as his fiance.  
With a sigh, he flicked the lights off and locked up the shop, heading outside to climb into his own car. A soft song on the radio nearly lulled him to sleep before he parked outside his apartment block and switched off the ignition. He briefly wondered why life couldn’t have made Jaehyun single, and cringed at himself as he remembered the engagement ring on his finger.  
“Get a grip.” He muttered, but that night as he drifted to sleep, there was only one thing on his mind. Would he ever see Jaehyun again?


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jaehyun finds himself drawn back to the florist, where he meets Taeyong again and meets some new faces.

A week had passed, and Jaehyun found himself standing outside Bunches of Happiness once more. 

This time however, he was in no stress-driven rush, and it was a sunny afternoon, the sort of acceptable time a florist is open.  
As he stood on the pavement, eyes fluttering between the pastel displays and the brief flashes of movement behind the windows, Jaehyun wondered what the hell he was doing. 

His anniversary went fantastically, the flowers brought such a bright smile onto Johnny’s face, and that made Jaehyun happy. He was happy. He had been with Johnny for years, and they’d been best friends for longer. They knew each other better than anyone else. Jaehyun was the one who proposed… they were getting married in the summer, for heaven’s sake. Jaehyun was happy with Johnny, and that’s why it was scaring him that for the past week, all he’s been able to think about is Taeyong.

Every day, Taeyong had been on his mind in one form or another. Sometimes he thinks about the way he subconsciously pushed his glasses up his nose, and the way he side-eyed Jaehyun with a smile. He thinks of the pastel pink sweater drowning his lithe frame, all tied up beneath a small green apron. He thinks of his fluffy brown hair, and his eyes, and the way he talked so passionately about flowers. 

He thinks about Taeyong all the damn time, and that scares the shit out of Jaehyun, because he’s engaged for fuck sake. What is he doing thinking about another man?

Why is he standing outside that same man’s work? 

He knows that technically it’s because he spent the last twenty minutes in a coffee shop thinking about the sort of thing Taeyong would like to drink, before settling on a caramel latte as a thank you for last week.

But if he was honest with himself, the true reason was that he just has to see him again. Something drew him to Taeyong. Not only did Jaehyun like him as a person, but he thought he was very pretty and very sweet. Jaehyun felt like this was the wrong thing to do, but at the same time, he really can’t shake off the florist.

With a heavy sigh, he approaches the shop and slips inside. He’s immediately met with the sweet aroma of flowers, which he wasn’t able to fully appreciate last week, too busy stressing over Johnny and admiring Taeyong. 

There’s a short, brunette boy watering a selection of orchids on his left, but no customers in sight. A voice grabs Jaehyun’s attention, and he almost drops the two takeaway cups he’s cradling.

“Can I help you?”

Jaehyun turns towards the desk to see another boy, with his head tilted. He’s looking at Jaehyun as though he’s some strange creature, and it occurs to him that it might have something to do with the way Jaehyun is just standing like an idiot, staring.

“Oh, uh… yes.” Jaehyun hesitantly approaches the counter and smiles at the boy, who doesn’t look any older than sixteen, “Is Taeyong around?”

Jaehyun bites his lip and the boy eyes him suspiciously, “Who’s asking?”

“Um, my name’s Jaehyun.”

“What do you need Taeyong for, Jaehyun?”

Jaehyun feels unnecessarily intimidated by the kid, but gestures to the cups, “Coffee.”

“Coffee?” He echoes, eyebrows raised. “Alright then... Taeyong-hyung!!”

“Gimme a moment, Haechan!” Came the airy reply, and Jaehyun’s knees went slightly weak at the sound (not that he would admit that, of course).

A few moments later, Taeyong emerged from the back room. He was wearing an innocent white hoodie under his apron and Vans with rainbow laces, which Jaehyun thought was a cute touch. His eyes scanned the room, before Taeyong’s gaze landed on him, and Jaehyun felt himself grin like an idiot. Haechan eyed Jaehyun again, his eyes darting between him and his boss. He shrugged and approached the kid who was trying (and failing) to water the flowers, dragging him to the back room. 

Taeyong approached the counter, and smiled up to Jaehyun. “Hi there.”

“Hey.” Jaehyun smiled.

Taeyong returned the gesture, “It’s nice to see you again. How did it go?”

Jaehyun hummed and nodded, “It went well. The flowers really helped me out. Thank you again, by the way.”

“It’s not a problem. But, when I said anytime, I didn’t expect you to be back so soon! Forget something again?” Taeyong asked, giggling between each word. Jaehyun smiled as Taeyong laughed. Jaehyun loved the sound of Taeyong laughing.

“Ah,” Jaehyun breathed, awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck, “No, I didn’t do anything terrible this time. I uh, came by to give you this.”

Jaehyun pushes one of the cups over the counter.

“I just, well. This sounds silly…”

“No, go on. Please.” Taeyong smiled warmly.

“I wanted to say thank you, for all of your help last week. I passed by my favourite coffee shop, and I’m on my lunch break, so I picked this up for you. As a way to say… thanks...” Jaehyun trailed off, smiling shyly and drumming his fingers on the table, “I didn’t know what you liked, but you looked like a guy who has a sweet tooth.”

“Jaehyun, you didn’t have to!” Taeyong squealed, as though it was so much more than just a coffee. He sounded almost like a child, which Jaehyun couldn’t help but find amusing. He chuckled and shook his head.

“Just take the coffee, Taeyong!” Jaehyun laughed, and handed it across the counter. Taeyong obliged, taking a sip and positively melting at the taste. “Did I get it right?”

“Caramel is my favourite.” Taeyong giggled. “Thank you, Jaehyun.”

Jaehyun shuffled his feet, and was about to respond when the sound of yelling interrupted them, and one of the boys collapsed through the doorway. He scrambled to his feet, and sheepishly laughed, looking around him as though he wasn’t just caught eavesdropping with his friend. 

“Mark!” Taeyong scolded, with no real bite, “Were you and Haechan listening?”

“Uhm... “ Mark responded, eyes darting towards Haechan for help when he also emerged from the back, “Well, we- Uh…”

“Yeah, pretty much.” Haechan shrugged, Mark coughed beside him and tried to retract from what Haechan had just said, desperate to defend himself, but Haechan cut in, “You’ve been talking about this Jaehyun guy since Monday, hyung. We were just curious as to what had interested you so much.”

Jaehyun turned to the florist with amusement ripe on his face, suppressing his laughter when he saw Taeyong. He was beet red, eyes wide and glaring at his apprentice. If looks could kill, Haechan would be six feet under. It was quite cute, Jaehyun thought, that Taeyong had been talking about him. 

He caught himself though, remembering his position as an engaged man and blushing at his own internal confession. Cute. He thought Taeyong was cute. Surely that couldn’t be so bad, he was allowed to find other people endearing. It’s not to say that he fancied anyone other than Johnny, right?

Right?

Before Jaehyun could continue his inner monologue, Mark opened his mouth, “We’re really sorry hyung, really. You know how Haechan is. And you did look so happy.”

Taeyong simply looked embarrassed at this point to have been called out in front of Jaehyun, and the two younger boys had clearly noticed as their gaze darted between Taeyong and Jaehyun expectantly. 

Jaehyun suddenly felt very hot, “Well, my lunch break is nearly over, so I best be-”

“Yeah of course, totally-”

“Um, I’ll see you around?”

“Yeah, of course. Thank you for the coffee Jaehyun.”

Jaehyun made for the door and slipped out of the shop onto the street. He was five paces away when he heard a door slam and rapidly approaching footsteps, before someone grabbed his hand. Jaehyun whirled around to find Taeyong stood there, grinning sheepishly and red-faced. He slipped a piece of paper into Jaehyun’s hand and his ears turned pink. 

“My number. So I can definitely, you know, see you around.” He explained.

“I could just come to see you at work.” Jaehyun responded, feeling like an idiot for saying it because a cute guy was standing in front of him and voluntarily handing him his number.

“Or you could call me. I’m not always working, you know.” 

Jaehyun nodded dumbly. For a moment, he almost forgot about his ring, and maybe that was why he slipped the paper in his pocket.

“Okay. Okay, sure. I’ll see you around Taeyong.”

The florist smiled warmly, before turning and running back to work. Jaehyun felt a little giddy as he watched him disappear, hearing the distant yelling of Mark and Haechan before the door shut.

-

That night, when Jaehyun returned home, he found that Johnny had cooked his favourite. Jaehyun felt conflicted. As heart-warming as the gesture was, there was a guilt eating away at him, because Jaehyun hadn’t thought about Johnny at all since his lunchtime encounter at the florist, his mind preoccupied with thoughts of Taeyong at work. 

He settled to sleep in the same bed as his fiance, still thinking about Taeyong. Jaehyun had never faced this problem before, and he was scared. He was interested in another man, there was no doubting it, but how far could he let this go?

What was he going to do?

-

That night, when Taeyong returned home, he faced the same cold, empty apartment filled with the same possessions and the same smell of lavender. But he felt different.

Ever since Jaehyun had walked into his life on a rainy Friday night, and made him stay late to fix his anniversary, Taeyong hadn’t stopped thinking about him. Jaehyun was on his mind when he arranged bouquets, trimmed the roses, watered the sunflowers, scolded Haechan for picking on Mark. Jaehyun was on his mind when he cooked, cleaned and slept. Jaehyun had been on his mind when he had returned to the shop, and Taeyong would be a liar if he said that seeing him had no effect on him. 

That afternoon, as Taeyong sipped the coffee from behind the counter with a wistful gaze, Haechan introduced himself with a punch to the shoulder. He and Mark had teased him relentlessly about this strange, new man. Haechan called it a crush. 

Taeyong told him he was an idiot. But, then again, Taeyong was also an idiot. As he flopped onto his sofa he reflected on the way he ran after Jaehyun, and gave him his number. His fingers had grazed the man’s engagement ring as he handed it over.   
He wailed agonizingly.

“For fuck sake Taeyong, he’s a taken man. You can’t give your number to men who are about to get married. Fucking idiot.” He scolded himself. He felt like a fool; what the hell must Jaehyun think of him?

Taeyong knew he was engaged. And yet there he was, flirting with him. 

But when his eyes met Jaehyun’s, the room always grew a little brighter and his mouth felt a little drier. He knew the feeling, but it had never been as strong until Jaehyun fell from the sky into Taeyong’s world. 

He sighed, and readied himself for bed. 

What the hell was he going to do?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading and for comments, kudos, subs and even just hits!
> 
> Twitter : @rosietyongf


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jaehyun finds himself stuck on whether to reach out to Taeyong. Meanwhile, Taeyong meets his best friend for some advice.

Jaehyun has never felt more pathetic in all his life.

He let his head fall back until it hit the wall of his office, sounding with a dull thump and sending an uncomfortable pain through his skull. Letting out a sigh, Jaehyun closed his eyes and tried to think straight.

It was Monday night. He had stayed late at the office, telling Johnny he had some important documents to flick through. Of course, that was a lie, because Jaehyun wasn’t working in the dark of his office after hours. He wasn’t even doing anything remotely productive.

He loosened his tie and cracked open his eyes, casting his gaze towards his desk. More importantly, his eyes settled on the screen of his phone, open on Taeyong’s contact, the blue light taunting him.

It briefly crossed his mind that it wasn’t like he couldn’t text Taeyong at home, but as soon as he thought it, Jaehyun discarded it, because he knew deep down that he really couldn’t. He couldn’t be in the same house as Johnny while texting another man who had stolen his attention.

Jaehyun felt a surge of guilt, knowing that this was wrong, but at the same time wondering what exactly was wrong with it.

Sure, he knew how he felt about Taeyong, and those feelings were stronger than a mere friendship… but on the surface, Taeyong was a guy he had met only twice. He had bought that coffee as a thank you. He had taken his number to get to know him better.

On the surface, their relationship was nothing but platonic.

Jaehyun knew he was dancing around the truth, knew he was playing a dangerous game. But he couldn’t help but feel slightly eased by the fact that he hadn’t actually done anything with Taeyong.

Yet.

It would all depend on this. This moment, whether Jaehyun would simply pocket his phone and drive home to his fiance, or send a text that might change his life.

Needless to see, after wringing his hands for another ten agonising minutes, Jaehyun chose the latter.

He scooped up his phone and, without thinking, typed a simple “Hey” and pressed send. He immediately locked his phone and tossed it back onto the desk.

What was he thinking? This wasn’t him at all.

He was acting like a schoolgirl with a crush around a guy he had spent a grand total of an hour with.

This was stupid. Pathetic.

And what if Taeyong was too busy to text him back right now? He’d have made himself look like an idiot for staying hidden in his office, and he’d have just wasted his time.

A few seconds later however, his phone vibrated against the table.

Jaehyun scrambled to pick it up, eyes glued to his screen,

_Taeyong : Hi_

Jaehyun felt a bit weird for smiling at the simple greeting, but frowned as his phone pinged again.

_Taeyong : Sorry, who is this?_

Oh shit yeah, Taeyong had given him his number. Jaehyun hadn’t returned his. Taeyong had no idea this was even him.

_Jaehyun : Oh, sorry. It’s Jaehyun._

Within seconds, his phone lit up with a reply

_Taeyong : Oh hi Jaehyun! Long time no see!_

_Jaehyun : Ahh~ yeah, sorry. I planned to text you over the weekend, but y’know…_

_Jaehyun : Life can get busy!_

_Taeyong : Of course :)_

_Taeyong : How’s Johnny?_

Jaehyun sighed, wishing that Taeyong hadn’t asked that question. His mind had drifted away from Johnny when he talked to Taeyong, and thinking of him now only fueled the growing feeling of guilt in the pit of his stomach.

_Jaehyun : He’s fine. How have you been? Busy day?_

_Taeyong : Yeah, we had a hectic wedding order that needs to be arranged for Wednesday! Crazy, right!?_

_Jaehyun : Yeah, crazy_

Jaehyun fiddled with his phone, wondering if he should actually ask the question at the forefront of his mind. He wondered if he should take such a risk, after all, if he did ask, what would Taeyong think? Would he know that Jaehyun was interested in him? Would he think of him badly, knowing about his ties to Johnny? What if he told Johnny?

Jaehyun grumbled under his breath and took a moment to calm himself down, scolding himself for being so stupid. Taeyong had never met Johnny, let alone had a way of contacting him. Jaehyun was just overthinking.

_Taeyong : Are you okay Jaehyun?_

_Jaehyun : Yeah I’m fine. I just wanted to ask you something._

_Taeyong : I’m all ears :)_

Jaehyun chewed nervously on his bottom lip as he began to type, erasing and retyping each sentence over and over, trying to get the words right.

Eventually, he felt that he managed to make it sound okay, and before he could scrutinize himself any further, he simply clicked send and placed his phone face down, awaiting the reply. When his phone did ping a few moments later, Jaehyun snatched it up eagerly, rereading his own message before taking in Taeyong’s response.

_Jaehyun : So I don’t want this to come off as weird, but I think you’re a really great guy. I’d like to spend more time with you… outside of work, maybe? So I was wondering if you wanted to go grab a coffee. Whenever should be fine, just let me know when you’re free :)_

_Taeyong : Oh! I’d love to grab a coffee with you! How does Saturday at eleven sound?_

Jaehyun blinked twice.

He remembered to breathe after a moment. He blinked again.

Feeling slightly stunned, he reread the message. Was Taeyong kidding him? The anxiety that Jaehyun underwent to type those panicked words seemed pretty much pointless when compared to the flawless way Taeyong just agreed.

But wait, he said yes.

He said Saturday at eleven.

_Taeyong : Jaehyun?_

Oh shit, he hasn’t replied.

_Jaehyun : Sorry. Saturday at eleven is fine. Where do you want to go?_

_Taeyong : You pick :)_

_Jaehyun : I know a place. We can meet at the park?_

_Taeyong : Sounds perfect. It’s a date! I’ll see you then!! :)_

Now, Jaehyun prided himself on being a composed and calm man. But, that said, he also prided himself on being honest.

So he wasn’t going to lie about the fact that when he read the words it’s a date in Taeyong’s message, he yelped and threw his phone somewhere across the room. It landed with a thud, but Jaehyun didn’t even care that he might have broken it, because Taeyong said the word date.

It’s a date. 

He saw this as a date?

Was this a date?

Jaehyun couldn’t be sure if Taeyong understood his current predicament, or if Taeyong himself had feelings for him. All Jaehyun knew was he was going to see the bubbly florist again in five days time, and that for some reason, the thought made his heart a little lighter. His stomach fluttered with cliche butterflies as he tried to suppress a smile, despite being alone in the dark.

He was excited to see Taeyong. He was going on a date with Taeyong. He had a crush on Taeyong.

There was no denying it anymore.

Jaehyun had a crush on Taeyong, and Johnny didn’t cross his mind once.

-

Taeyong set his phone down as a pleasant shiver coursed through his body. He readjusted his legs under his favourite blanket and tentatively sipped his tea with a suppressed smile.

He was still trying to register if that had actually happened, or if he was imagining it.

He bit at his nails, a nervous habit of his, as he ran through his text conversation with Jaehyun over and over again in his head.

He was really seeing him on Saturday for a coffee date, and even though his skin was buzzing with excitement, there was an uncomfortable feeling in the pit of his stomach that he couldn’t quite ignore. Because Jaehyun had asked him, which wouldn’t have normally been an issue with Taeyong, except for the one technicality.

Taeyong couldn’t pretend that Jaehyun wasn’t engaged to another man.

He felt a twinge as he recalled the way the engagement ring twinkled in the light of the florist, and Taeyong felt a pang of severely misplaced jealousy.

Taeyong wondered if Jaehyun understood what he was doing, and what he planned to do.

He really didn’t want to be a home-wrecker, but more than that, Taeyong refused to fall for a man who would only play with his heart and drop him.

He recovered his phone from where it had slipped between the couch cushions and opened Ten’s contact. It was times like these when he needed his best friend’s insane advice.

_Yongie : Ten, you awake?_

_Perfect Ten : Always_

_Perfect Ten : Is everything okay pumpkin?_

_Yongie : Can we talk?_

_Perfect Ten : I’m on my way. We’ll get ice cream._

Taeyong sat in their usual booth across from his best friend, head stooped over his mint chocolate sundae and trying to ignore Ten’s burning stare. He’d already told him what his issue was, and kind of wanted to disappear when Ten gave him an incredulous look.

Taeyong wasn’t really craving a lecture right about now. All he wanted was ice cream, a cuddle and an ‘it’ll be okay’.

“So, let me get this straight. Some guy comes into work needing help for his anniversary. Said man is engaged. And you fall for him.”

Taeyong sighed , “Yes.”

“Then the next week, he brings you coffee and you give him your number.”

“Yes.”

“And then this guy, who you say is attractive-”

“Very attractive.”

“-Texts you and asks you on a date?”

“Yeah, you got it spot on.” Taeyong sighs again, still struggling to meet Ten’s eyes from across the table, waiting for him to tell him to give up. “Listen, if you’re about to tell me that I’m some kind of-”

“Go for it.”

A silence hung between them as Taeyong whipped his head up to find the raven staring at him with a smile plastered on his face.

“I’m sorry, what?”

“I said, go for it, silly. You’ve been alone ever since, yknow… and you really deserve to be happy. I want you to be happy. If this guy, who you’re blushing and crumbling over just talking about, really makes you feel so happy, then go for it!”

Taeyong coughed awkwardly at Ten’s observation before letting out a sigh, “See, Ten, I would! But, he’s engaged. That’s a fucking huge deal. I can’t chase after a married man.”

“He’s not married yet.” Ten smirked.

“Ten. I’m serious.”

“Okay listen to me,” Ten exhaled, reaching his hands across the table and interlacing their fingers, rubbing soothing circles with the pads of his thumbs, “This Jaehyun, he’s interested in you. Engaged or not. I’m sure he loves this Johnny, or at least did, but you’ve clearly caught his attention. If he didn’t have a thing for you, would he really have turned up to your work - after a successful anniversary, mind you - and given you a coffee, before inviting you on a date? No. He’s giving you an opportunity, and I think you should take it. You have no idea what’s going on with this guy and his fiance; maybe they’re unhappy. Either way, he’s interested. Use Saturday as a way to get to know him, see if this is really what you want, and if it is I will support you 100%.”

Taeyong felt a smile creep onto his face as Ten’s words sunk in, and he nodded. This is why he loved Ten.

He always knew exactly what to say.

“Thank you Ten.”

“Not a problem,” He grinned. “Now finish your ice cream, you’ve been nursing it for three hours now!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you reading and for comments, kudos, subs or even just hits!
> 
> Twitter : tyongfoikinnie

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you reading and for comments, kudos, subs or even just hits!
> 
> Twitter : @rosietyongf


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